Top ten Game of Thrones villains…so far

Nathan SwankApril 23rd, 2016

If you have followed any of our “Game of Thrones” coverage, you know that we are fanatics over the greatest show of all time. Generally, we stick to film reviews and news but we can’t help ourselves when it comes to the fantasy drama based on George R.R. Martin’s novel series, A Song of Ice and Fire. I’ve never been as excited about anything in entertainment as I have been about a new season of “Game of Thrones.” With the start of season 6 happening soon (Sunday, April 24 on HBO), I thought it would be a good time to reflect on the Top Ten Villains from Game of Thrones… so far.

SPOILERS will be abundant and anyone who plans to watch the series for the first time should not read any further. You have been warned.

One of the great things about the show is that there are many grey areas when it comes to good and bad. Or perhaps I should say there are many shades of black when it comes to bad. Because there is a lot of wickedness happening in this universe, I thought this list would be easier, but when I finished, I was torn about some of my characters. Yes, Jamie Lannister may have pushed Bran Stark out the window in episode one, but he also has turned his life around, saving Brienne of Tarth and his little brother Tyrion from certain doom. The Hound was a fairly brutal man, but he also showed some tenderness toward the Stark daughters. Theon Greyjoy’s betrayal to the Starks is pretty harsh but he clearly struggles with his good and evil natures. Dead or alive, this list will stick to some of the truly awful people as main antagonists directly opposed to our favorite characters. Those who don’t struggle with their decisions nor have remorse for their actions are prime candidates. Some villains have personal motives, others are just evil monsters and GoT has them all. The question is, who is more dangerous? Obviously, this list is pretty dark as most of these characters have done some pretty despicable deeds. I couldn’t give everyone a spot and the order is definitely debatable. So who do you think I got wrong?

11. Vicerys Targaryen – Definitely the weakest of the lot, Vicerys gets the gold crown for delusional. He had no idea what he was getting into when he sold his sister, Daenerys, to marry the Dothroki leader, Khal Drogo. Such a shrill voice for a wannabe king. His threat to unleash the dragon was about as strong as his head carrying boiling gold. The only reason I felt I needed to include him is because Daenerys needed an enemy on the list and the Sons of the Harpy were just too general and faceless.

10. Walder Frey – Guest Right: When a guest, be he common born or noble, eats the food and drinks the drink off a host’s table beneath the host’s roof, the guest right is invoked. Neither the guest nor host may harm one anther for the duration of the guest’s stay. Every major religion in Westeros holds guest rights as the most sacred and inviolable social rule. Apparently Walder Frey does not care about said rule as he breaks this rule to murder Rob Stark, Rob’s wife, Rob’s unborn child, Rob’s mother Caitlyn Stark, Rob’s dire wolf Grey Wind, and the rest of Rob’s men in what has been named the Red Wedding. Walder Frey – sentencing you to janitorial work at Hogwarts wizarding school would be far too kind.

9. Alliser Thorne – He killed Jon Snow.

That’s all I really need to say about the jerkface behind the death of perhaps the most beloved character from the series. Granted, there were many hands that thrust a blade into our mysterious blood lined hero, but the mastermind behind the shocking act is none other than Jon’s nemesis Alliser Thorne. Shame on the rest of the guys as well, especially you Olly.

8. Joffrey Baratheon – Joffrey might be the most hated guy on this list. He is arguably one of the primary catalyst for the events of the entire show. Foolishly ordering the death of Ned Stark put the already budding war in Westeros into an irreversible motion. His cowardly lies from being beaten by young Arya, cause and early divide between the families and got the poor butcher boy killed. It only got worse from there once he became king. The only reason he isn’t higher on this list is because he wasn’t too bright and his bratty arrogance got him killed fairly quickly. Did I mention he beheaded Ned Stark?